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3D Software for Kids


bwilson
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I have a 9 year old brother who sees what i do in max/rhino and wants to learn the tools and is interested in both visualization and character animation. Is there a 3D package out there that anyone can recommend that would be easy for him to learn and will not require me to train him for weeks and weeks!

 

I want him to start to get familiar with working in 3d space so i gave him my old copy of Bryce 5 and Poser to satisfy him for now. I just do not want him to get intimidated by something as advanced as max and get turned off from learning it.

 

Any other package out there that might be more up his alley? Any suggestions would be great! thanks in advance

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try him on sketchup :)

 

Don't do that, he'll be your competitor in 2 weeks!

 

My 10 year-old son uses Zbrush daily, used Lightscape at 4 (he couldn't read the menus but was very good at navigating space and working with materials). For a while he used a kid's program called Disney 3D Magic, or something like that, that allowed building and animating characters. He also has used Poser off and on for years.

 

Poser is good. It's pre-rigged. I've been learning a little character rigging in Cinema and its really hard. The end result is something that behaves a lot like Poser, which, by the way, runs just fine on my Pent 700Mhz laptop.

 

So Bryce (SOMEbody has to use it) and Poser are good starts, especially since you already own them. SketchUp is good, too, Zbrush is amazing.

 

Rhino? Why not, but it isn't a toy, so he will have to learn the pro way. If he does, he'll end up a pro.

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I Have to cast my ballot for SketchUp. There are actually quite a few kids that have posted some amazing work on the forums. the most recent is a 13 year old who is reproducing his favourite architecture from books.

 

 

THey have "educational " pricing and I'm sure that a 9 year old qualifies.

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Great suggestions, thanks everyone. So I guess I'll let him keep my Poser and Bryce and let him figure out if he is more into doing landscapes and primatives or lean more towards character animation. Then take it from there. The Z-Brush and SketchUp ideas were good too. Maybe they can be the next step once he determines what direction he might want to persue.

 

What about the free Maya PLE? I don't know many who use Maya for design viz, but that might be great if he wants to get more involved with character animation. His specific words were "I want to make cartoons like Jimmy Neutron"! (yeah i know they use Lightwave!) I'll download that and see if he likes it and get hime the Maya beginners guide for $25. That should satisfy his craving... for now anyways!

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